View full sizeU.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope (left), will host Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., on a boat tour of the Gulf of Mexico on Friday, May 23, 2014, to highlight frustration among fishermen over federal rules limiting the red snapper season.

ORANGE BEACH, Alabama – A key lawmaker will join U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope, Friday on a boat tour in the Gulf of Mexico designed to highlight frustration over federal rules resulting in an ultra-short red snapper season.

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., is a co-sponsor of a bill offered by Byrne that would add flexibility to current regulations governing the red snapper season in the Gulf. Scalise also is chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the conservative cause in the House of Representatives.

Byrne has railed against a decision by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to reduce the 2014 red snapper season to nine days.

"My friend Representative Scalise understands our fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico need a common-sense season, which is why he is a sponsor of my bill, the SNAPR Act," Byrne said in a prepared statement. "I am glad to have Representative Scalise in Alabama to provide another Gulf Coast perspective as we work together to find a solution that will support the valuable jobs this industry represents."

The congressmen will leave from SanRoc Cay Marina in Orange Beach at 8:30 a.m. for a two-hour tour and will take questions from reporters afterward.

Byrne's bill would repeal a section of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act mandating what he congressman calls "inflexible quotas" limiting the red snapper catch.

"Red snapper are an integral part of our Gulf Coast fishing communities and local economies," Scalise said in a prepared statement. "Anglers deserve more than just nine short days to enjoy this fishery that plays such an important role in the traditions and heritage of the Gulf Coast region, especially Louisiana and Alabama."